Tom Haraldsen | Tom.h@davisjournals

Our first-ever edition of the Davis Journal is here. This marks the beginning of a new era in community journalism for the county. Our weekly publications will be a mixture of many of the features you’ve enjoyed in local newspapers in the past, and lots of new things as well. And now the story on how we got here and who we are.

The editorial department is made up of award-winning writers, photographers and designers who’ve been telling the stories of Davis County residents for a combined total of more than 50 years. We have become deeply invested in the community and the people who live here. Our publisher Bryan Scott has owned newspapers in North Dakota and Utah, and for the past seven years has published the City Journals in 15 different cities in Salt Lake County. They are delivered to over 200,000 homes and have won a number of awards. They are a continuation of The Valley Journals that have been published for over 30 years. 

He lives in Davis County and said, “I’ve been wanting to publish a community newspaper here since the day I bought my home.” His dream has come true with the Davis Journal.

“There’s never been a time when disseminating local news to a community has been more important than it is today,” Scott said. “I’ve been fully committed to community newspapers for many years, even before I purchased the City Journals.”

Scott’s team includes editor Tom Haraldsen, assistant editor Becky Ginos, chief photographer Roger V. Tuttle, and popular columnists Bryan Gray and Peri Kinder. “We’re including many of the popular features that readers have loved, such as weekly TV listings, entertainment news, games and puzzles, weekly forecasts from the ABC4 Pinpoint Weather team, and of course great news and feature stories,” Scott said.

The Journal is also adding a host of correspondents and is currently seeking beat writers. Anyone of interest should reach out to Haraldsen at [email protected]. Scott is creating a community editorial board made up of the paper’s readers. Those interested can also respond to Haraldsen via email.

The business model of the Journal will be both subscriber and advertiser-based. 

“I’m excited to work with local businesses since I live here and shop here,” Scott said. “One of the things I love most about the City Journals is the wide range of businesses that we work with, from Intermountain Healthcare to an entrepreneur opening a dance studio in their garage. We’ll be very involved with the Davis Chamber of Commerce. And we’ll be having a ribbon cutting for our new offices at 837 South 500 West #201 in Bountiful at a later date.”

 “Many have asked what we can do to make this newspaper successful, when many papers are cutting back operations or shutting down,” Scott said. “I believe it means taking a proactive approach, getting very involved in the community, making communication a two-way street, and providing information that the public can’t get anywhere else.”

Scott knows that many residents had paid subscriptions to the Davis Clipper. “I will honor those subscribers for up to six months if they’ll notify us via email to [email protected].”  

The Davis Journal website (davisjournal.com) is up and running, as well as our Facebook page, with more social media sites to come. Subscriptions are available at subscribe.davisjournal.net, and you can submit story ideas, letters to the editor, or other correspondence to [email protected]. 

Let us know how we’re doing and what you’d like to see in future issues of the Davis Journal!